A/N: I saw a few of you were saying 'Casey's reminding me of Christian Grey', but don't worry about that because I have literally no idea of what happens in that book so you have nothing to worry about. Enjoy.

"So you want to be a marriage counselor." Casey speaks up as a statement from where she's seated at the bar area in her kitchen, watching the blonde cook her dinner.

Alex smiles at the question and nods in confirmation. "Mhm. I feel like working for Liz is just a stepping stone for me. I'm just a therapist there you know. I don't actually do a whole lot of the matchmaking." She explains before giving a subtle shrug. "Well that and I handle finances."

Casey chuckles at this, biting down slightly on her bottom lip as she allows her eyes to rake over the woman in her kitchen. She starts at the bottom, working her eyes over bare, milky and gorgeously toned legs, up the curve of her body beneath one of her business button downs that Alex had taken to steeling, to the lightly crimped strands of blonde that are still damp from their shared bath not a half hour prior.

Feeling eyes on her, Alex glances over her shoulder, sending a smirk of her own as she watches Casey practically undress her with her eyes. "Enjoying the view, are we, Miss Novak?"

"We are." Casey purrs in response, her mischievous green eyes meeting icy blue ones. "It's a great view you know. It's not every day that I have a gorgeous woman in my kitchen making me dinner."

"Well something tells me that those other women are missing out." Alex answers, forking the expertly cooked stake onto the awaiting plate before she spins around and walks across the kitchen, sitting it in front of the awaiting redhead. "And just so you know, I don't cook for just anyone."

"I'll keep that in mind." Casey retorts, once again allowing her eyes to roam over Alex's body. "Although, you are making it extremely hard to focus on this beautiful meal you've prepared, what with you standing here in my clothes."

Rolling her eyes, Alex gives a laughing Casey a playful swat to the shoulder before she takes the knife, cutting of an edible piece of beef before stabbing it with the fork and holding it up. "Eat your food, Novak. I'm not letting my hard work go to waste for your jokes."

Casey cocks an interested eyebrow as she tilts her head playfully. "Oh? You're gonna feed me like I'm a child?" she teases, her eyes flickering from the fork, to Alex and occasionally to Alex's lips for a millisecond.

"Well if the shoe fits." Alex replies with a tone of nonchalance and a shrug.

This time, Casey's smirk morphs into a full out grin as she leans forward and takes the fork between her teeth. She makes a show of ever so slightly sliding the piece of stake from the fork and into her mouth, before she slowly closes her lips around the utensil, pulling away with as slow a pace as possible.

Alex quietly sucks in a sudden breath. She wonders how in the hell Casey was able to make the most simple gesture so seductive and dare she say it, sexy. Placing the fork on the marble counter, she patiently waits for Casey to finish chewing before she leans forward and captures her lips in a gentle, yet passionate kiss.

Casey, though she wouldn't care to admit it out loud, finds herself temporarily taken off guard as Alex was the one who initiated this kiss. She reaches up and traces the outline of her jaw before moving her hand to run through damp but silky blonde strands.

When the need for air becomes too great, Casey pulls away, licking away the barely there remnants of strawberry lip gloss from her lips. "So tell me about this marriage counselor thing." She murmurs after a moment of them staring into each other's eyes.

Alex sighs quietly before she gives another subtle shrug and leans against the bar counter. "It's just something I've wanted to do for a very long time. I feel like it's my way of helping people and helping people is something I'm really good at. What I really want to do is open my own practice."

"You know I can make that happen, right?"

"I'm sorry."

"Your practice." Casey points out as she takes another bite of food. "I own plenty of property and I have a lot of available spaces. I can help you get started on your feet."

A wide smile spreads across Alex's lips as her face practically glows with excitement. "Are you serious?" she gasps, clapping her hands together when Casey simply nods in response. "Oh my god, Casey that's amazing."

"It is." Casey answers, allowing the deep kiss that came to her from her revelation. Humming, she gives a gentle push to Alex's shoulders before she pulls away. "Baby, you know I can make all that happen, and I want to make all that happen, but you just have to do one thing for me. I need you to be mine."

"What?" Alex responds, blinking slowly as her mind slowly comprehends the words that just came out of Casey's mouth. "What…what do you mean?"

"You know what I mean, Alex. I need you to be mine." Casey repeats as she stands up and moves around the counter. She wraps her arms around Alex's waist, pulling her closer while moving her back against the counter. "Alex I love you and I want to take care of you. You deserve so much better than what you have."

"Casey…" Alex whispers, gently resting her head against the redhead's shoulder. "I…I feel the same way, but I can't just leave her like this. She doesn't…she wouldn't see it coming and she's such a good woman."

"Alex, I can take care of you, she can't, you know that." Casey rationalizes as she gently caresses the skin of Alex's waist. "Think about it Alex, here with me you have everything you have ever wanted. What are you possibly gaining from clinging to her like she's some kind of lifeline?"

Sighing heavily, Alex gives a small nod as she pulls away. "I'm…I know, okay? I know, but I need you to understand that we've been married for four years. I can't just up and leave her like this, it'll tear her apart. I just some time to figure some things out. Please say you understand?"

"I understand." Casey replies as she pulls away and takes both of Alex's hands in her own before placing a gentle kiss to them. "I've been thinking. I've cleared it with Liz to give you the next week and a half off. I wanna take you somewhere special."

"You mean it?" Alex asks, her voice full of hope and interest.

"Of course I mean it." Casey hums, leaning as she begins to place kiss to Alex's cheek, gradually moving to her neck. "Just you, me, and a romantic hotel in a special location of my choosing. How's that sound?"

Grinning, Alex leans forward and allows Casey to pull her closer. "It sounds perfect."


Checking her phone for the hundredth time, Abbie then shoves the device back into her pocket before she makes her way up towards the rather expensive looking apartments in front of her. After a lot of pleading with the doorman for a good ten minutes to let her in, she slips passed up and makes her way into the lobby.

She ignores the looks she gets from the people in the lobby as she makes her way over towards the elevator. After sneaking another glance at the piece of paper in her pocket, she presses the number for the tenth floor and waits patiently as the lift begins its painfully slow climb.

The ding of the lift nearly startles her half to depth and she finds herself exiting the elevator with probably more haste than what's necessary. Abbie nervously fiddles with her hands as she makes her way down the hallway before coming to a stop in front of her destination. She hesitates for a brief moment before she raises her hand and knocks firmly on the door.

It's a only a few minutes before she hears shuffling and indistinctive mumbling on the other side and it isn't long before she hears the lock turning. As the door begins to swing open, she holds her breath at the greeting she's about to receive.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

Well, she supposes it could've been worse.

"I…I really need to talk to you."

Kim folds her arms tightly over her chest before she sighs heavily and spins around, bidding the taller woman a silent interest. As she makes her way back into the lounge, she turns off the stereo that's softly playing in the background before she picks up her half empty glass of wine. "What do you want?"

"Like I said, to talk." Abbie repeats as she once again checks her phone. "But first, have you seen Alex? She left unexpectedly this evening and she hasn't called or anything. I'm getting kind of worried about her and I was wondering if you have heard from her at all."

"I'm sure she's fine." Kim replies with a shrug before taking a sip from her wine. "So again, I must ask, what do you want?"

Taking a deep breath, Abbie looks down at her shoes before awkwardly shuffling her feet. "I need your help." She begins, taking another deep breath to gain some confidence. "I…I really messed up when I forgot about Alex's birthday."

"Yeah you did." Kim snorts with an eye roll.

"…Anyway…I really messed up when I forgot Alex's birthday and I really want to do something special for her. I wouldn't normally do this, but I really need your help. I want to take Alex out to Angelo's because she's been wanting to go, but I can't afford it…"

"So you want money." Kim states with a clarifying nod.

"I…yeah…" Abbie responds as she runs a hand through her hair. "I just…can you help me out? Please? I never really ask you for anything…I didn't even want to bother you when our electricity was cut off but Alex insisted and we didn't have any power so I didn't have a choice. Please…"

Kim seems to mull this over in her mind before she sighs heavily and moves over to where her purse is on the counter. She shifts through the expensive leather bag for a moment before she pulls out a few bills and hands them over. "Here's five hundred dollars Abigail." She states flatly, holding up her hand when Abbie begins to speak. "I don't really want to hear your explanation. Just take this as me being generous and don't question it."

Abbie snaps her mouth shut, nodding as she stares down at the dollars in her hand. "Thank you so much. Kim, you…you really have no idea what this means to me. Thank you."

"Yeah…well…" Kim shrugs with a waft of her hand. "Just don't fuck everything up."

"I won't. You have my word."


Arriving home, Alex isn't surprised to find the place dark save for the light illuminating from their bedroom. She glances down at the time on her phone and winces when she realizes how late, or rather early, it really is. Softly putting her stuff down, she moves into the bedroom where she finds Abbie patiently waiting for her.

"Hey, you." the brunette says with a sad smile as she looks away from her focused spot on the wall. "I was worried about you when you didn't call…where'd you go?"

"Liz called me in for some work stuff." Alex responds with a semi shrug as she sets about getting ready for bed.

"Oh…well it would've been nice if you had called."

"I don't report to you Abbie."

Blinking at the sudden snappiness in Alex's voice, Abbie's mouth falls open before she immediately snaps it shut. "I…wasn't saying that you did. I was just saying that I was worried about you and I just wish you had called to tell me where you were. It's almost two a.m. Alex…"

Sighing heavily, Alex drags a hand through her hair as she can't even look at herself in the mirror. "I know…I'm sorry for snapping…I'm just tired." She explains, slipping into her pajamas before sliding underneath the covers. "I'm sorry…"

"It's okay…in some way I'm sure I deserved it." Abbie replies with a small grin as she pulls her wife into her arms, frowning when she feels Alex go completely rigid. "Alex? Baby, are you alright?"

"I'm fine…" Alex murmurs, closing her eyes to will away the guilt. "Like I said, I'm just tired."

"I see…well, let's get some sleep. I have a surprise for you tomorrow." Abbie says with hopefully as she reaches over to turn out the light.

Well into the night and long after Abbie's breathing has evened out to sign that she's asleep. Alex finds herself still lying awake at night, staring blankly at the wall where she wonders how and when she is going to take care of things.

As always, I've loving you guys' theories. Leave your thoughts!